Vessel handling and finishing device



June 11, 1935. w. L. MONAMARA El AL 2,004,492

VESSEL HANDLING AND FINISHING DEVICE Filed June 5, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet la z 7 w W W m y 3%5 J 1%. a n4 6 m ML V June 11 1935. w. M NAMARA El AL2,004,492

VESSEL HANDLING AND FINISHING ISEVICE Filed June 5, 1.929

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M 6/) ATTORN EY June 11, 1 935. w. M NAMARA ET AL 2,004,492

VESSEL HANDLING AND FINISHING DEVICE I F i led June 5, 1929 4Sheets-Sheet s llllilmllu lmnum uumn INVENTORS Meir ATTORNEY June 11,1935. w. McNAMARA .ET AL 2,004,492

VESSEL HANDLING AND FINISHING DEVICE Filed June 5 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 41726/) ATTOR N EY Patented June 11, 1935 UNITED STATES VESSEL HANDLINGAND FINISHING DEVICE William L. McNamara and Louis P. Piazzoli, Jr.,Connellsville, Pa., .assignors to Capstan Glass Company, Connellsville,Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application June 5, 1929, Serial No.368,620

28 Claims.

The present; invention relates to glass machinery and more particularlyto a machine for glazing or fire polishing glassware.

In the manufacture of certain types of glassware, particularly tumblers,it is desirable to glaze or fire polish the upper edges of the ware toeliminate fins and other irregularities. This is generally done byplaying a flame on the edge of the receptacle to melt or soften thisportion of the ware and thereby make it smooth. Boys are employed totake the individual containers and place them on conveyors forming partof the machines for subjecting the glassware to heat. Such heat cannotbe applied to containers moving along the usual conveyor because theflame would be applied unevenly. The present glazing machines rotate thetumblers while passing through the heating flame. A large amount oflabor is required for placingeach individual tumbler on and forremoving-it from the glazing machine. This increases the cost of thisclass of ware and slows up the rate or production.

The present invention aims to overcome these difficulties by minimizingthe amount of labor required and by eliminating the necessity forinterrupting the usual line of movement of containers from the glassforming machine to the annealing leers. It will be understood that manyof its features are applicable to transferring mechanisms generally, thepresent application being for illustrative purposes.

An object of the invention'is to facilitate the manufacture ofglassware, particularly glazed glassware. v

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and effectivemechanism, automatic in its operation, for glazing or fire polishingglassware.

Another object of the invention is to minimize the time and laborrequired for glazing or finishing glass containers, thereby to reducethe cost and to increase the production thereof.

Another object of the invention is to automatically remove containersfrom a conveyor to a fire polishing machine and to automaticallyreturnthe containers to the conveyor so that the movement of the warefrom the forming machines to the annealing leers is not materiallyinterrupted.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved vesseltransfer mechanism for engaging vessels in one position and deliveringthem at another position.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon anunderstanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described orwill be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages notreferred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employmentof the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes ofillustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings,forming a part of the specification, wherein I Fig. 1 is a top plan viewillustrating the movement of the vessels through the machine;

Fig. 2 is a detailed top plan view of the front end' of the machineshowing the mechanism adapted to receive the tumblers from a conveyor;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view, taken at one end of the machine,illustrating the movement of the vessels onto a fire polishing machine;

Fig. 4 is a detailed sectional view of a portion of the vesseltransferring mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a detailed view'taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a detailed view taken along the line 66 of Fig. 4;

Fig. '1 is a detailed sectional view taken on. the line |1 of Fig. 1;and

Fig. 8 is a detailed view illustrating a transferring mechanism adaptedto invert the containers during the transferring operation.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown (Fig. 1) a machine I adaptedto glaze containers delivered to it. At one end of the machine there isa conveyor 4 adapted to deliver containers to a positioning device 5from which they are removed by a transferring mechanism 6 and positionedon the conveyor 2 of the glazing machine where the containers passthrough a tunnel I in which the rims are heated to eliminate fins andother irregularities. The conveyor continues to the other end of themachine and the vessels are removed by the transfer mechanism 8 anddelivered to a conveyor 9 which may lead to asuitable annealing leer.

The glazing machine I may be of any suitable form, but preferablycomprises a pair of supports I l at the respective ends thereof, havingmounted the :on sprockets [2 adapted to mesh with and drive the conveyor2. The sprockets l2 may be driven ir .ny suitable manner but arepreferably rigidly connected to the shafts H which may be interconnectedby means of sprocket wheels l4 and chain l5. One of the shafts i I isoperatively connected to the driving shaft of the motor It by means ofthe worm gears l1 and I8.

The details of the preferred form of the consis veyor 2 and of theheating tunnel are shown in Fig. '7. A series of bearings l9 areconnected together with flanges 20 riding upon angle irons 2| attachedto the framework of the machine, In each of the bearings l9 there is apin or shaft 22 having a gear 24 in operative engagement with a rack 25on the side of the framework of the machine. The upper end of the shaft22 has a seat 26 for glassware such as tumblers. A suitable shield 21 ismounted along one side of the conveyor for a part of its travel and maybe covered with asbestos or other heat insulating material. A burner 28is mounted on the other side of the conveyor by means of a bracket 29attached to the shield 21. The burner may comprise an elongated tube 33,having apertures in the side adapted to subject the glassware to asubstantially continuous flame.

It will be noted that, as the vessels 30 move through the tunnel formedby the shield 21, the shaft 22 is rotated by means of the gear 24 andrack 25 to rotate the tumblers 36 thereby causing the flames from theapertures in the burner 28, which are formed closely adjacent to eachother, to play continuously on the rims of the containers to apply heatuniformly thereto and to melt any fins or other irregularities thereon.

At one end of the machine I there is shown a conveyor 4 (Fig. 2)delivering vessels to a rotating disc 32. A guide 34 co-operates with anoscillatory member 35 actuated by a cam 36 to deliver receptacles intimed relation to the movement of the transfer mechanism 6. As shownherein, the cam 36 has a series of dwells and rotates with the disc 32,the pivoted member 35 being moved by the cam in opposition to a spring31. Whenever the oscillatory member is moved in opposition to thespring, sufiicient space is afforded between the guide and one end ofthe oscillatory member to permit a container to move therebetween.Immediately thereafter, the oscillatory member drops into the dwell ofthe cam and holds back any approaching container. The deliveredcontainer engages a stationary member 38 which positions it on therotating disc for engagement by one of the vacuum heads 39 on the vesseltransfer mechanism.

The transfer mechanism for engaging the vessels and placing them uponthe conveyor 2 of the glazing machine is shown more particularly inFigs. 3 to 6 of the drawings. Preferably,-

the mechanism comprises a plurality of radially extending arms 40, shownherein as 6 in number, pivoted at their inner ends by means of pins 4|and bearings 42 with adjustment screws 44 adapted to limit the downwardmovement of the vessel engaging heads 39 mounted at the extreme ends ofthe armsMl. Extending upwardly from the heads 39 are stems 45 suitablymounted in the ends of the arms 49 and operatively connected withconduits 46 threaded into the apertures 41 of valves 48. The valves aresecured in the apertures 49 of the rotarymember 50 by means of bolts 5i.Thelentire mechanism, including the arms 46, vacuum heads 39, conduits46 and valves 48, is attached to and rotated with the rotary member 59which is rigidly attached to a vertical shaft 52 and operativelyconnected to the driving mechanism through gears 54,55, 56 and 51. Theshaft 52 and its associated transferring mechanism are mounted upon abracket or extension 53 on the base of shaft H.

A stationary cam 58 is adapted to support the arms 40 through theintermediation of the cam rollers 59. At the point of engagement of thehead 39 with containers, there is a dwell 60 in the cam 58 and a similardwell at the point where the containers are delivered to the conveyor 2of the glazing machine.

Each of the valves 48 has a member 62 which is adapted, when moved onequarter of a revolution, to open or close the valve and, when movedanother quarter, to close or open the valve, depending upon its previousposition. These members 62 are each adapted to engage a pin 64 securedto a stationary arm 65 and also to engage a pin 66 secured to astationary arm 61. The pin 64 in the arm 65 is adapted to open eachvalve as they pass so that the suction heads 39 are subjected to avacuum for engaging and released at proper points in the movements ofthe arms. The position of the arms 65 and 61, or either of them, may bechanged as desired by looseningv the nut 63' (Figs. 4 and 5), adiustingthe position ofthe arms and thereafter tightening the nut 63 to hold thearms in their adjusted position. In this manner, the point at which'thevacuum becomes effective or ineffective on the suction heads may bechanged. The adjustability of the arms 65 and 6'! is advantageous at thetime the machine is set up for a particular job and also for obtainingthe best operating results. A lateral extension 10 is connected acrossthe upper ends of the vertical member I l and the vertical shaft 52 inorder to make the construction more rigid. 4

A transferring mechanism 8, similar to the one described above, isprovided at the other end of the glazing machine. In order to avoidduplicating descriptive matter, the various parts of the transfermechanism at the delivery end are properly numbered so that theconstruction and operation will be readily understood from thedescription of the transfer mechanism at the intake end of the machine.

At the delivery end of the machine the containers are delivered by theconveyor 2 to the glazing machine in proper positionand itis,-therefore, unnecessary to have at this point a mechanism forpositioning the various receptacles. The arms 40 and vacuum heads 39operate in a similar manner, as described above, to engage receptaclesdelivered by the conveyor 2, raise them slightly to clear the glazingmachine, transfer them to a position above the conveyor 9, and drop thecontainers slightly to engage the conveyor which moves them onwardtoward a leer. It will be noted that the conveyor 9 moves in thedirection of the rotation of the transfer mechanism and this, of course,facilitates the placing of the vessels on the conveyor.

In certain instances, it is desirable that the tumblers be deliveredfrom the forming machines to the conveyors in inverted position, thatis, with the bottoms upward. The reason for this is that there is lesslikelihood of the tumblers toppling over in their movements. In Fig. 8of the drawings, there is shown a modification of the structuredescribed herein, which is adapted to invert the containers during thetransfer from a conveyor to the glazing machine. This construction maybe substantially similar to that described above, with arms Hcorresponding to the arms 40 resting upon the cam 58 with the outer endof the frames having heads 12 adapted to engage the sides of theinverted tumblers. The arm H may comprise a sleeve 13 adapted to betelescoped about a hollow member 14 and held in position thereon bymeans of another sleeve 15. In this manner, the head 12 is rotated uponthe member 74. The gear 76 is adapted to mesh with a rack 11 during thetravel after engagement with the receptacle to the delivery thereof toinvert the head and the receptacle held thereby. In this manner, thereceptacle is delivered to the conveyor 2 in upright position althoughreceived by the head 12 in inverted position. A similar rack 18 may bepositioned to engage the gear 16 and return the head 12 to its normalposition prior to its engagement with a vessel. For convenience, themember 14 may havea conduit 19 extending therethrough and the vacuumtubes 46 may be connected directly to the arms II for rendering thevacuum effective upon the heads 12 through the conduits. It will beunderstood that the dwells in the cam, similar to those describedhereinbefore, are adapted to lower and raise the heads 72 suflicientlyto clear the conveyor from which the containers are removed and uponwhich the containers are deposited.

In the operation of the device, the vessels are delivered by a conveyorwhich may lead directly from the usual glass forming machine wherevessels are delivered at the rate of some twenty or thirty a minute.These vessels reach the disc where they are delivered one at a time bymeans of the oscillatory member 35 and the guide 34 operated by the cam36. The vessels delivered to the disc 32 are positioned by means of thestationary member 38 directly under one of the heads 39 on the vesseltransferring mechanism. By meansof the dwell in the cam 58, the head 39is dropped slightly to engage the containers which immediately riseafter the vacuum has been made effective on the head by the valve member62 engaging a pin 64. The engaged vessel, being raised clear of theconveyor, is rotated around with the arms 40 and rotary device 50 untilpositioned over one of the seats 26 of the conveyor 2 whereupon asuitable dwell in the cam 58 drops the arm 49' and suction head 39slightly so that the tumbler rests upon the seat 26.

open the conduit 46 to atmosphere and permit the container to drop inplace on the conveyor 2. The containers are then moved by means of theconveyor 2 through the tunnel I where the burner, which comprisesessentially a series of small openings along the side of the pipe 33,plays a flame continuously on one side of the tumblers throughout themovement through the tunnel. blers, in order to give a very even heatingeffect, are rotated by means of the rack 25 effective upon gears 24 andshafts 22. The tumblers emerge from the tunnel and travel along theconveyor a short space so that the upper edges cool slightly and arethen engaged by a transfer mechanism at the delivery end having heads 39which regis- At the same time, the valve member 62 engages the pin 65.to

The tumment with the sides of the containers. The heads engage thecontainers and are then rotated upon the arms H through 180 degrees bymeans of the gears 16 and rack Tl. Thereafter, the containers aredelivered in upright position to the conveyor 2 .of the glazing machine.It will be understood that a similar mechanism can be used at thedelivery end of the glazing machine for returning the ware to theconveyor 9 in inverted position.

It will be seen that the present invention provides a mechanism adaptedto be placed in any desired position about a glass factory and connectedby means of conveyors to a suitable glass machine and to a suitableleer. The ware, on its way to-the leer, is glazed automatically withoutinterfering with its progress. I The mechanism is automatic in itsoperation and eliminates the hand operations heretofore necessary inthis class of work, thereby reducing the cost of the articles. By reasonof the vacuum operated heads, there is no chance of the vessels beingdeformed in any manner and the original exact shape is preserved. Thisis quite important due to the fact that many of the containers are usedfor packers ware where sealing machines seal closures to the upper rimsof the receptacles and exact finishes are essential. The machine issimple in construction and fully capable of withstanding the rough usageto which it may be subjected.

As various changes may be made in the form,

the spirit of the invention, it is to be understood that all matterherein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having 'thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In a vessel transferring device of the class described, thecombination of a rotary device having a plurality of arms thereon,vessel engaging suction heads on said arms for engaging the side of avessel, means for moving said arms at a. predetermined point in theirmovement to engage the side wall of a vessel, means for rotating thevessel engaging heads to invert the vessels and means for lowering saidarms at a predetermined point in their movement for disengag ing saidvessels, valve members on said arms for controlling the suctioneffective on said suction heads, and a laterally extending arm forengag- F ing and operating said valve members.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination'of vesselengaging means adapted to move in a closed path, means for connecting asource of vacuum to said vessel engaging means, mechanism for loweringsaid vesselengaging means successively one ata time at predeterminedpoints to engage vessels, a laterally extending arm having means forrendering the vacuum eifective upon said heads when they are lowered toa vessel, means for lowering each of said heads independently of theother head at another point in their path to deposit said vessels on amoving conveyor in upright position, and devices for rendering saidvacuum ineffective on said heads at said second point.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of rotary deviceshaving a plurality of substantially horizontal arms thereon, vacuumoperated vessel engaging heads" on said arms, conduits attached to saidheads and rotatable therewith, valves in said conduits rotatabletherewith, cam members connected to said valves, and stationary meansmounted above said arms for engaging said cams at predetermined pointsto operate the valves.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of a rotarydevice having a plurality of substantially horizontal arms thereon,vacuum operated vessel engaging means mounted on said arms, conduitsextending from said arms, valves controlling said conduits, cam membersconnected to said valves, and a plurality of, stationary arms adapted toengage and rotate said cams at predetermined points during the rotationof said arms to control a vacuum effective upon said vessel engagingmeans.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of a conveyor, arotatable disc adjacent said conveyor, an arm engaging the vessels onthe conveyor to prevent their delivery to the disc, a cam for operatingsaid arm to permit delivery of a vessel at intervals, means for stoppingthe vessel on said disc, and a rotary device having heads thereonadapted to engage and raise the vessel delivered to said disc andstopped thereon and transfer it to a suitable machine.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of an arm pivotedto oscillate in a vertical plane, a vessel engaging head mounted on saidarm, means for rotating said armv in a horizontal plane, means foroscillating said arm in a "substantially vertical plane toengagevessels, a conduit connected with said head for exhausting the airtherefrom whereby said head is adapted to engage a container, arotatable valve in said conduit having an upright member connected tosaid valve and rotatable therewith, and stationary means adapted toengage said valve operating member to operate said valve at apredetermined point in the rotation of said arm.

7. In a vessel transferring device of the class described, thecombination of a rotatable hub member, a plurality of rotatable armsmounted upon said hub member, vessel engaging suction heads mounted onsaid arms, means for moving said arms into engagement" with vessels at apredetermined point in their movement, a laterally extending armhavingimeans thereon for rendering suction efiective in the suctionheads during the period the head is in engagement with the vessel, 'andmeans for moving said vessel engaging head about its longitudinal axisto invert the container, and a laterally extending arm having meansthereon to render the suction ineffective to deposit the vessels atanother predetermined point in theirvmovement.

8. In a vessel transferring device of the class described, thecombination of a plurality of arms, suction heads on said arms adaptedto engage the side of a vessel, a cam having a dwell for lowering saidvessel engaging heads successively into engagement with vessels, a setscrew independent of said cam for limiting the downward movement of saidheads, means for subjecting said suction heads to a vacuum, and meansfor rotating said vessel engaging heads with respect to said arms duringthe transfer of the vessels.

9. In a vessel transferring device of the class described, thecombination of vessel engaging means comprising a plurality of suctionheads adapted to engage the side of a vessel, means for moving saidheads continuously to engage consecutively the sides of finished vesselsdelivered upon a conveyor, valves for rendering a source of suctioneffective upon said suction heads to hold a vessel, and an armadjustable in position for operating said valves, means for renderingsaid vacuum ineflective to deposit the vessel in another position, andmeans for rotating said heads to invert the vessels during transfer.

10. In a device for transferring vessels of the class described, thecombination of a rotary device having vacuum operated vessel engagingheads for engaging the mouth of a vessel, means for lowering said headsconsecutively at a predetermined point in their travel to engage avessel, means for movingsaid headsat another point in their travel fordepositing them, valves for subjecting said heads to a vacuum when avessel is engaged and for relieving said vacuum when the vessel isdeposited and laterally extending arms adapted to engage and operatesaid valves when said valves pass said arms.

11. In a device of the class described, the combination of a rotarydevice having a plurality of substantially horizontal arms thereon,vacuum operated vessel engaging means on said arms, conduits leading tosaid vessel engaging means and rotatable therewith, valves in saidconduits rotatable therewith, cam members connected to 'said valves,stationary means mounted above said arms for engaging said cams atpredetermined points to operate the valves, and means for raising an armas a vessel is engaged and for lowering the arm when the vessel isreleased.

12. In a device of the class described, the combination of a rotarydevice having a plurality of substantially horizontal arms thereon,vacuum operated vessel engaging'means on said arms,

conduits leading to said vessel engaging means and rotatable therewith,valves in said conduits rotatable therewith, cam members connected tosaid valves, stationary means mounted above said arms for engaging saidcams at predetermined points to operate the valves, and means forlowering each arm as a vessel is released.

13. In a device of the class described, the combination of a rotarydevice having a plurality of substantially horizontal arms thereon,vacuum operated vessel. engaging heads on said arms, conduits attachedto said heads and rotatable therewith, valves in said conduits rotatabletherewith, cam members connected to said valves, and stationary meansmounted above said arms for engaging said cams at predetermined pointsto operate said valve.

14. In a device of the class described, the combination of a rotarydevice having a plurality of substantially horizontal arms thereon,vacuum operated vessel engaging means mounted on said arms, conduitsextending from said arms, valves controlling said conduits, cam membersconnected to said valves, a plurality of stationary arms adapted toengage and rotate said cams at predetermined intervals during therotation of said arms to control a vacuum effective upon said vesselengaging means, and means for lowering said arms at the time the vesselis released to deposit the vessel on a conveyor moving in substantiallythe same direction as said arms.

15. In a device of the class described, the combination of a rotarydevice having a plurality of substantially horizontal arms thereon,vacuum operated vessel engaging heads on said arms, conduits attached tosaid heads and rotatable therewith, valves in said conduits rotatabletherewith, cam members connected to said valves, means mounted abovesaid arms for engaging said cams at predetermined intervals to operatethe valves, and means for rotating said arms intermediate the time thevessel is engaged and released to turn the vessel over during itstransfer operation.

16. In a device of the class described, the combination of a conveyorfor glass containers, a pair of supports for said conveyor, vacuumoperated suction heads mounted on one of said sup ports and adapted toengage the side walls of inverted containers, means for turning saidsuction heads to invert the containers into their upright position,vacuum conduits operatively connected to said suction heads, valves insaid conduits for rendering said vacuum intermittently effective uponsaid suction head, and mechanism mounted on the other of said conveyorsupports for removing the containers from the conveyor.

17. In a device of the class described, the combination of a conveyormoving in a closed path past a fire polishing device, a support for saidconveyor, said support having a laterally extending bracket, a shaftmounted in said.- bracket, a plurality of arms mounted on said shaft andadapted to rotate thereabout, suction heads on said arms and suctionconduits leading to said heads, and means for rotating said arms tocause said heads to engage vessels and place them' on the conveyor.

18. In a device of the class described, the combination of a conveyoradapted to convey containers past burners for fire polishing the same, asupport for said conveyor, a pair of horizontal brackets on saidconveyor support, bearings in said bracket adapted to support a verticalshaft,

and a plurality of suction heads mounted to rotate about said verticalshaft for placing containers on said conveyor.

19. In adevice of the class described, the combination of a conveyoradapted to convey containers past a fire polishing mechanism, a supportfor said conveyor, a substantially horizontal bracket on said support, asubstantially vertical shaft mounted in said bracket, a plurality ofsuction heads mounted upon said vertical shaft and adapted to rotatethereabout, means for operatively connecting said vertical shaft to saidconveyor to rotate said suction heads in timed relation with theconveyor, and means for raising and lowering said suction heads toengage vessels to be fire polished and to place them on said conveyor.

20. In a vessel transferring device of the class described, thecombination of a rotary device having a plurality of arms thereon,vessel engaging suction heads on said arms for engaging the side of avessel, conduits leading to said suction heads, valves in said conduitscontrolling the suction on -said heads, and means for operating saidvalves at predetermined points, means for moving said arms at apredetermined point in their movement to engage the side wall of avessel, means for rotating the vessel engaging heads to invert thevessels, means for lowering said arms at a predetermined point in theirmovement for disengaging the vessels, and additional means coopcratingwith said arms and operating independ-' conduits, means for loweringsaid vessel engaging.

heads successively into engagement with the vessels, set screwsoperatively connected to said arms to limit the downward movementthereof, and means for subjecting said suction heads to a vacuum.

22. Ina device of the class described, the combination of a conveyor, arotary disc, means for preventing vessels from moving from said conveyoronto said disc, said means being operated Y periodically to permitdelivery of a vessel, means for stopping a vessel on said disc, andmeans for engaging and raising said vessels while stopped on said discto deliver them to a finishing machine.

23. In a device of the class described, the combination of a conveyor, arotatable disc adjacent said conveyor, an arm engaging the vessels onthe conveyor to prevent theirdelivery to the disc, a. cam for operatingsaid arm to permit. delivery of a vessel at intervals, means forstopping the movement of the vessel on the disc, and a rotary devicehaving suction heads thereon adapted to engage the vessel delivered tosaid. disc and stopped thereon and transfer it to a suitable machine.

24. In a. device of the class described, the combination of a pluralityof rotatable devices, vacuum operated means attached to said devices,said vacuum operated means including contacting members, a cam forlowering eachof said devices successively at predetermined points intheir movement independently of the other devices, means for renderingsaid vacuum effective at a predetermined point and ineffective atanother predetermined point whereby said vacuum operated means mayengage and disengage vessels, and adjustable arms for engaging saidcontacting members for varying the position at which said vacuum becomeseffective and ineffective. 1

25. In a device of the class described, the combina ion of a rotarydevice, pivoted arms mounted on said rotary device, vacuum operatedvessel engaging means attached to said arms, said arms having contactingmembers thereon, a cam support'ng said arms independently of each otherand having dwells therein for raising and lowering said armsconsecutively at predetermined points, means for controlling the vacuumoperated vessel engaging means at said points to render said vacuumeffective or ineffective to engage or-release vessels at said points,and adjustable arms for engaging said contacting members for varying theposition at which said vacuum becomes efiective and ineffective.

26. In a device of the class described, the combination of a conveyor, arotary disc, means for preventing vessels from moving from said conveyoronto said disc, said means being operated periodically to permitdelivery of a vessel, means for stopping the movement of the vessel onsaid disc, and a rotary device having heads thereon for engaging andraising said stopped vessels on said disc and delivering them to afinishing ma- .chine.

27. In a device of the class described, the combination of a pluralityof conveyor tables for holding containers, a conveyor adapted to movesaid tables successively past a fire polishing mechanism, supportingmeans for said conveyor, means supported by said conveyor supportingmeans adapted to engage inverted containers to invert and deliver themto said tablesin upright position, said engaging means comprising asuction head, a vacuum conduit leading thereto, a valve adapted tocontrol the suction effective on said cal members, suction heads securedto said arms, the suction heads associated with one of said members whenrotated being adapted to engage vessels and place them on the conveyoron one end thereof and the suction heads on the other of said membersbeing adapted to remove the vessels from said conveyor and place them onanother conveyor at the other end thereof.

WILHIAM L. MCNAMARA. LOUIS P. PIAZZOLI, JR.

